the italian
by DevotedSoul
Summary: Would class as a high T, borderline M. Mature content, mostly suggestive and implied rather than descriptive. What might have happened had Charlie taken Duffy up on her offer of going for dinner, all those years ago? Could be classed as an extended scene to Series 13, episode 13. [Charlie/Duffy]
1. chapter one

_originally posted to tumblr under the name of ineffabledoll._

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 **THE ITALIAN.**

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 _"Listen, Duffy when I get back we'll do this properly."_

It's why they'd ended up in the Italian she'd suggested. The place was supposed to be quiet, giving them the opportunity to talk. It's why Charlie was currently stood outside, pacing up and down waiting for her to arrive. She'd gone home to see Andrew and the boys first and to change although she hadn't needed too. She looked beautiful the way she was.

His breath catches in his throat as she steps towards him and makes her presence known. She's decided to wear a tight fitting floral dress that clings to her figure perfectly, showing every curve of hers.

"I'm not late, am I?"

He shakes his head as he meets her gaze. He wouldn't know if she was late or not as he wasn't paying attention to the time nor could he remember if he had set a time for them to meet.

"Not at all, ready?"

He offers her his hand and she accepts, placing her hand into his. With a smile, he takes her into the restaurant and to the table he booked. The restaurant isn't at all busy, quiet like she said and gives off an intimate vibe. His eyes lock with hers once more and her cheeks turn a deep shade of red.

"What?" She asks and Charlie shakes his head. It was nothing. He just couldn't get over how beautiful she looked underneath the dim lights. Charlie, making more of an effort than usual, had dressed smart but casual.

"New shirt, Mr Fairhead?" She teases and Charlie laughs softly. It was a new shirt, brought a few days ago when he'd come back from Birmingham, the words he'd said to Duffy ringing in his ears about doing _this_ properly.

"Can you tell?"

"Hmm," he frowns slightly as she stands up from the table and steps towards him. The closer she gets, the quicker and heavier his breathing becomes. She stops when she reaches his side, reaches out and removes the price tag that was still attached to his shirt.

"You forgot to remove the price tag." She whispers into his ear before returning to sit at the table. She crosses one leg over the other as she meets Charlie's eye once more. He smiles and she returns the smile before they look down at their menu, wondering what to order. (Although Charlie can't help but sneak a few peeks at Duffy from over the top of the menu!)

Charlie doesn't really know what to order so he plays it safe with the lasagne, Duffy on the other hand, goes straight for the pasta. A bottle of white wine is ordered. He knows how much she loves a crisp, white chardonnay.

He's watching her again. The way she bites the corner of her lip, the way she taps her nails against the table. How she watches the people around her. It's only when she turns back round when she hears the sound of her glass being filled, do her eyes meet with Charlie's and she blushes furiously.

"I wish you'd stop watching me." She mumbles with a smile as she takes a sip of the wine.

"It's not my fault you're so beautiful."

She rolls her eyes playfully but can't help the heat that comes off her cheeks. Sitting here with Charlie made her feel like 15 again, he always did have the ability to make her feel young again.

"How was Birmingham?" She asks as she places the glass on the table. It was bound to come up in conversation at some point but Charlie had hoped it would've been much later in the evening.

"It was fine, I made the last connection." Part of him wondered what might have happened had he decided not to leave for Birmingham that night. Would he have done _this_ much earlier?

"That's good. And how's Louis?" She bites her lower lip. Does she ask about Baz? Or is any mention of his wife strictly off limits? They weren't doing anything wrong were they, they were just having dinner together.

Dinner as friends…

"Louis' great thank you, he's settled in well."

She smiles, her index finger running along the rim of her wine glass. She loved the way any mention of Louis made Charlie's face light up. The way he spoke about his son, always made her smile brightly.

The waiter comes over with their food and Duffy stabs a piece of pasta with her fork. There isn't much conversation over dinner, the odd talk about work but nothing too long or distracting from dinner.

"Duffy?"

"Hmm?" She looks up from staring at her pasta bowl, her gaze instantly locking onto Charlie's.

"Can we do this again soon?"

"This, meaning dinner?" As Charlie nods, Duffy laughs and replies; "aren't you supposed to ask me once dinner is actually over?"

"I'm too impatient to wait that long."

She nibbles some more pasta from her fork and nods. Going for dinner would give her something to look forward too.

"Go on then."

He sips his wine and smiles, wanting to pinch himself. How did he ever get the most beautiful woman in Holby to go for dinner with him? Not once but twice.

Once their mains are finished and the plates cleared away, Charlie glances at the dessert menu. Duffy follows his gaze and asks; "hoping for dessert?"

There's a slight seductiveness tone to her voice which Charlie notices and plays along with,

"I think that depends what's on the menu, don't you?" He reaches to grab a menu and ends up freezing and swallowing. What the…? He ends up getting the menu just as he feels her foot run up the inside of his thigh, a soft giggle escaping her lips the more flustered Charlie became.

"Having fun?"

She nods, another giggle. The bottle of wine that they'd shared between them had gone down well. Her foot continues to run higher and higher up the inside of his thigh before she presses it into his crotch. The wine was making her far more confident than she usually was. Charlie watches her, his tongue running over his lower lip.

"I think you'd be sweet enough for dessert." It's more of a statement than a question and Duffy giggles for a third time. She has that funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Leaning over the table, she whispers;

"Why don't you take me home and find out?"

He doesn't need telling twice. He pays the bill and leaves, his hand clasped tightly in Duffy's, his thumb running over the back of her hand. In the taxi, she runs her tongue over his ear, gently nibbling on the lobe. His breathing quickens slightly and he swallows, trying hard not to think where he really wants her tongue.

His fingers slowly circle the skin on the inside of her thigh. He hears her breathing become heavier, feels the goosebumps that have appeared on her skin from his touch.

"Charlie," she whispers in his ear as his hand and fingertips move further up her leg. "Stop it."

He laughs, "only if you promise to stop nibbling my ear."

She bites it hard one final time, before she slowly moves away and instead, rests her head on his shoulder. As soon as they're home, Charlie takes her upstairs, undressing her along the way to the bedroom. He kisses the back of her neck and she moans softly. Pushing her gently onto the bed, he crawls between her legs and kisses her passionately.

As he pulls away, he laughs gently when he realises that Duffy's fallen asleep beneath him. With a smile, he lies beside her and almost instantly, Duffy moves closer, reading her head against his chest. He throws the duvet over them both, kisses the top of her head and whispers: "I love you."

Although he doesn't receive an answer, a smile appears on Duffy's face. He kisses her head again, not wanting the evening to end, knowing tomorrow they'd have to go back to living their ordinary lives, living a lie.

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	2. chapter two

**_notes_** : decided to add a few more chapters. No idea where I'm going. High T, borderline M for sexual ideas.

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 **CHAPTER TWO.  
** _"you're very messy."_

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When Duffy wakes the following morning, she's aware she's alone in an unfamiliar room. The first thing she does is check under the duvet, breathing a sigh of relief to find she's still wearing her bra and knickers. However, soon realises that she's in Charlie's bedroom and house when she hears his footsteps.

"Good morning."

She looks up to find Charlie entering the bedroom, carrying a tray. He's wearing his dressing gown and she can't help but smile brightly.

"Morning." She answers back as she moves and sits up. Charlie places the tray down on the bedside table and sits on the edge of the bed, facing her.

"Sleep well?" He asks and she nods. She had one of the best nights sleeps in a while, something which she'd blamed on the white wine they'd shared last night.

"Yes, no thanks to you."

"Wasn't my fault, I think it was the excitement." Charlie replies with a smirk. She raises an eyebrow, "the excitement of what, exactly?"

"Oh you know." His eyes sparkle with a hint of mischief, she notices and just laughs, not verbally responding. She moves her gaze to catch sight of the breakfast tray that he's brought her. There's a pot of coffee, a glass of water with a soluble paracetamol dissolving, pancakes with chocolate spread and a bowl of strawberries.

"I hope pancakes with chocolate spread and strawberries is still your favourite." He said as he took a strawberry. Duffy nods with a grin. He remembered! She loved pancakes with strawberries and chocolate! He offers her the strawberry and she takes a seductive bite, her eyes never once moving from his. He watches the way she bites down gently, his breathing quickening before he leans over to wipe away the trickle of juice down her chin.

"You're so messy," He told her with a smirk. She shook her head, "not always."

She finishes eating the strawberry and sticks her finger in the chocolate. She proceeds to lick and then suck the chocolate from her finger, once again her eyes holding Charlie's gaze. He breaks the eye contact when he starts getting flustered, only for her to lean over and whisper, "where else do you want me to lick the chocolate off?"

He meets her gaze again, searching for something. He finds it, the desire she has for him. He doesn't know what to do about it. Last night was different, last night they were drunk. He runs his thumb over her lower lip, battling with himself. He wants her just as equally as she wants him

The phone proceeds to ring,

"Leave it."

He moves his thumb from her lips and delicately tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. He kisses her neck, causing her whole body to tingle and he continues to trial kisses along her collarbone.

"Hmm, Charlie." She whispers, her eyes closed tightly and her head tilted to one side.

He returns the kisses up her neck before planting a delicate, tender kiss to her lips. He pulls away and tells her, "you should eat your breakfast and go to work, before you're late and the boss tells you off."

She rolls her eyes and picks up another strawberry, "does that mean I'll be punished?"

"I'm sure I can come up with a suitable punishment, don't you?" He winks before he pours them both a mug of coffee, "something that involves putting you over my knee."

"Hmm, I'm sure you'll like that more than I would."

"Oh I don't know," Charlie laughs as he hands her a mug of coffee, "I'm sure giving you a nice hard slap on the arse, would make you wet."

Biting into another strawberry, she shrugs and replies; "I guess you'll just have to find out for yourself." The twinkle remains in her eye along with the funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.

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	3. chapter three

_._

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 **CHAPTER THREE**.  
 _red dress and a distracting cleavage._

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"Charlie? Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?"

Duffy rolls her eyes at Charlie's blank expression. He'd got lost ages ago when he began to imagine kissing her cleavage, leaving bite marks along the skin of her breasts.

"Hmm?"

"You weren't listening to me, were you?" She folds her arms across her chest which does nothing but draw Charlie's attention to her breasts even more. He considered lying, saying he was listening but decided against it. And anyway it wasn't his fault he was distracted. She was the one who'd chosen the red dress.

"No darling, I wasn't."

She lets out an exaggerated sigh and then picks up her wine glass, taking a small sip before restarting her conversation.

"What I was saying was…." he was lost again, his thoughts running wild at what she was wearing underneath the red dress. She stops mid sentence and realises that once again, he wasn't bothering to listen. However, as she watched him more, the more obvious it became that he was sexually attracted to her. She found her cheeks turning a shade of red, she'd never being anyone's sexual object before - not until she'd met Charlie anyway. She circles her finger along the rim of her glass as she looks down at her chest. Even after two children, Duffy would say she had a decent set of breasts. Charlie obviously loved them by the looks of things.

"Duffy?"

"Yes?"

"Dinner again next week?"

She laughs softly. Dinner once a week in the Italian restaurant was their once a week date night. Two best friends and work colleagues going out for dinner wouldn't have anyone thinking twice.

"Deal."

"Shall we shake on it?"

"Hmm," she smiles as she extends her arm out in front of her. Charlie does the same with his and their hands meet. They shake each other's hand, sealing the deal before Duffy moves her hand and arm. As she does, she accidentally knocks over the glass of wine that falls into Charlie's lap.

"Fuck," Charlie stands up suddenly, the wine glass falling to the floor and smashing into pieces. Duffy tries to stifle a giggle but it's no good, it's not working and she giggles loudly. As she does, she receives a look from Charlie.

"Oh dear Charlie, I'm ever so sorry. Shall I help you clean it up?"

She moves from her spot at the table, grabs a load of paper napkins and proceeds to dab at Charlie's crotch. The more she applies pressure in a certain spot, the quicker his breathing. She pretends not to notice that or the definite bulge forming in his trousers.

"Duffy?"

"Yes Charlie?" She wipes some more wine away before giving his crotch a discrete squeeze.

"You seem to have caused me a problem."

She looks down at his crotch and then back up to meet his eye. She shrugs and moves her hair over one shoulder, "and? Would you like me to do something about it?"

"I think that would be the most appropriate course of action, don't you?"

Again she shrugs. She leans over and whispers in Charlie's ear, "I think this restaurant is too upmarket for a toilet quickie."

She pulls her dress down, sits down at the table and picks up her wine glass. As Charlie sits down opposite, she begins to run her foot up his leg underneath the table. She holds his eye, smirks and then slowly withdraws her foot.

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	4. chapter four

.

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 **CHAPTER FOUR.  
** _dinner every week for a month._

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He's taken her out for dinner, every week for the past month. It's not unusual, is it? They're friends and colleagues who go and have a bite to eat once a week. (It's irrelevant that they get dressed up and go to a posh restaurant)

In the four times, he's able to take her out; he's brought her home twice but hasn't done anything other than kiss her. They'd flirted a lot, every dinner had ended on the assumption they would go home and have sex but it had never happened once they got home.

A fifth date happens but he changes things slightly. He doesn't take her to the Italian but instead to a Mediterranean restaurant on the outskirts of Holby. He's also booked a hotel room, equipped with a minibar.

Like the first dinner date, Duffy's wearing a tight fitted floral dress. It wasn't the same one she wore on their first date, this one was slightly shorter and showed more cleavage than the last.

"I was listening this time!" He protests. He was definitely listening, she was talking about the boys and what they were doing at the weekend although she was convinced he hadn't been.

"You're not wearing your red dress so I'm not as distracted." He grins as she blushes. "I'm going to get rid of that dress." She threatens lightly.

Charlie gasps, "no you can't, it's one of my favourites."

"You have favourites?"

Charlie sips his glass of wine and nods. Of course he had favourites. There were certain dresses that she wore that made her look _incredible_.

"Of course. There's certain dresses that make you good enough to eat."

Her face flushes a furious red before she regains her composure and answers. "Yet you've never actually tasted me."

There's a hint of mischief in her eyes as she leans forward and whispers, "all you have to do is ask nicely and I might say yes."

They're sat at the bar, in the corner, mostly away from everyone else. She recrosses her legs which makes her dress rise up her thighs. She places her hand higher up his thigh, licks his ear and bites his earlobe.

"I hear I taste really sweet but you'll have to figure that one out yourself." Her hand remains on Charlie's thigh, the bulge becoming more and more predominant.

"I also want to know if the rumours are true, if you're really as big as the girls say you are."

"There's rumours?"

Duffy bites his earlobe once more, slowly moves away and catches his eye. Then she winks.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Now would you like me to sort out that small problem of yours or do you want to do it yourself?"

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	5. chapter five

_last chapter for now, may or may not add this in the future._

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 **CHAPTER FIVE.  
** _"dehydration that is."_

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"Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" She looked up from staring at the papers on the desk, a small frown on her face. How long had she been sat there, staring at the file? Her eyes met with Charlie's and she nodded, "yeah of course, just got a headache that's all."

Charlie smirked as he stepped closer, his hands going on her shoulders. As he squeezed her shoulders, he replied; "dehydration that is. You were quite wild last night."

"Charlie!" She shook her head fondly, her cheeks blushing. She did not need to be remembered about last nights antics in the hotel room.

"That poor bloke who complained is only jealous."

"Charlie!" Her face continued to flush in embarrassment. Having spent a great deal of hours in each other's company, they may have upset a few other hotel guests due to the volume. Charlie immediately blamed Duffy for being too vocal but she disagreed and said it had been him. Charlie continued to massage her shoulders, before kissing the back of her neck.

"Hmm." She closed her eyes as she melted into his touch, his hands working magic at releasing the tension in her shoulders.

"Better?"

"Much." She reopened her eyes and smiled shyly, "Can I request one of them during one of our nights together?"

"A massage?"

She nodded and he pretended to think. After a few seconds of silence, he replied; "oh I'm not sure. What's in it for me?"

Duffy took her lower lip in between her teeth and answered, "I'm sure I can come up with something to say thank you." Once she released her teeth on her lip, she ran her tongue over it. Charlie's eyebrows raised in recognition.

"Is that right?"

"Uh huh." She pouted, "I might even apply some lipstick if you're well behaved enough."

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 _just a little bit of fun. Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated, reviews are loved._


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